Pneumonia in Newborns and Babies

Babies and young children may get pneumonia from respiratory syncytial  virus (RSV), like as  infants may get it from group B streptococcus (GBS) acquired at birth during delivery.  Children with bacterial pneumonia basically  have sudden symptoms  like severe  fever, rapid breathing, and coughing. Agents of chronic congenital infection, like as cytomegalovirus, rubella, and others, may cause pneumonia in the first 24 hours of life. In the neonatal period, pneumococcal infections can present in the form of pneumonia, sepsis, or meningitis with beginning  or late onset.

Neonatal pneumonia is a lung infection in a neonate. Signs may be few  to respiratory distress or progress to shock and death. Unlike adults, children who have pneumonia may not experience a nagging cough or fever, and may have signs of infection that are much more subtle. They also are at large number  risk of contracting the disease because their immune systems aren’t fully developed. Children with walking pneumonia may not feel sick enough  to stay home but they could have the following symptoms:

• Dry cough
• Low-grade fever
• Headache
• Tiredness

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is responsible for about 2 to 20 % percent of all adult cases of pneumonia but the rate is even higher among school age children group. An approx  2 million Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections occur every  year in the United States, and it’s the most common issue of pneumonia in school-age children. Breast feeding  protects the baby from getting pneumonia by boosting their infection-fighting (immune) system. Breastfeeding beyond 4 months of age.